Karnov stared blankly at the potato seed in his hand before looking up. His lover, wearing an apron, was busy adding various prepared ingredients into the pot over the campfire.
Karnov buried the seed potato under his foot and quickly pulled out a sprouting plant. Underneath were several plump potatoes. He had just fast-forwarded time to grow these potatoes.
“Asha.”
“Ah! Karnov, are you done with the potatoes?”
Even though she was over twenty years old, she still frequently looked like a child. Karnov, looking down at the quickly prepared potatoes being added to the pot, suddenly asked without context.
“Asha, what do you like about me?”
Asha, without lifting her head from the pot, stirring the contents diligently, replied quickly as if she had been waiting for the question.
“Your looks, your good earnings, your high status, the large mansion in the capital, and the estates with salt and diamond mines?”
Recently, a diamond mine had finally been discovered near Sedvoyer territory. The one most delighted by the news was not Asha, Karnov, or even Yekaterina, but Asha’s spirit, Phoebe. Phoebe had endured a lot of harsh scolding for mistaking the salt mine for a diamond mine.
“…My abilities aren’t even on that list?”
“Of course not. Karnov, I love you even without those abilities. More than anything in the world.”
Karnov gazed steadily at the playful Asha, then lifted the corners of his mouth.
“So if the diamond mine disappears, I can’t earn money, and I lose my status? Does that mean you won’t like me then?”
“Hmm…”
Asha measured spices, salt, and seasonings with her hand and added them to the stew.
“Well, it’s okay if you can’t earn much money. I can earn well. Status doesn’t matter because I’m a grand duchess. But…”
“But?”
“Hmm, but if you become unattractive…”
Finally, Asha lifted her head and scrutinized Karnov carefully, examining his eyes and ears. She spoke seriously.
“You can’t become unattractive. That’s unacceptable. It’s a very serious problem. Got it? Karnov, why aren’t you wearing a hat? What if you get sunburned?”
“…”
While Karnov was left speechless, Asha fetched a wide-brimmed straw hat from the camping tent. With a deep sigh, Karnov moved the straw hat from his head to Asha’s. Seeing this, Asha burst into laughter. Her ears were a rosy shade, making Karnov laugh too.
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
Asha regularly “inspected” her territory with her friends. Mostly, it was to check on how well the inhabitants—the peach fruits—were doing and to spend a few days with them. This could be summed up in one word: camping. Thus, these inspections mostly took place in the summer.
“It’s nice and cool even in the summer because we’re in the forest.”
Lyudmila said, enjoying the breeze. The warm sunlight filtering through the peach trees and the breeze tickling the leaves had a calming effect. Karnov looked at Lyudmila.
“You seem to be the only one here who enjoys such things.”
Natalya and Asha were busy looking at the peaches cooking on the grill pan over the campfire. The menu, which involved sprinkling sugar on firm peaches, grilling them until they sizzled, and then topping them with cream cheese and honey, was the highlight of this “inspection.” The accompanying knights also gleamed with anticipation, glancing at the cooking peaches.
“They’re ready!”
At Asha’s call, the knights moved in unison. They lined up with plates, and Asha placed the grilled peaches on each plate. The peaches, with appetizing grill marks, lined up neatly on the plates.
After the first round, it was time for the cream cheese. The knights holding plates of cooked peaches made another round. Using a small teaspoon, they placed cream cheese on the peaches and finished with honey and nuts.
Soon, the campsite was filled with sounds of admiration and delight. The summer taste was a combination of the condensed sweetness and aroma of grilled peaches, their softened texture, the savory and creamy taste of cream cheese, and the sweet honey and nuts filling in all the gaps.
Karnov placed a thin glass in front of Asha and poured white wine into it, shaking his head. Bubbles fizzed up in the glass.
“Even the most decadent person in the capital wouldn’t start drinking wine at this hour.”
Asha took a sip of the fizzy white wine and made a satisfied sound, winking at Karnov.
“I guess i’ll be the most decadent person in the capital.”
“No! I’ll be it!”
Natalya exclaimed, standing up abruptly, causing peach juice to drip down her chin. Lyudmila shook her head and reached for a handkerchief.
As they ate and drank for a while, their hands soon became sticky with honey and juice. When Asha went to the creek to wash her hands, Karnov followed with a towel.
Asha squatted by the creek next to Karnov, wrapping her arms around her knees, washing her hands, and drying them with the towel. She turned her head to the side. Karnov, who was touching the pebbles below the creek with his fingers, flicked water droplets at her.
“Eek!”
Asha laughed through the water droplets but didn’t splash back as usual.
“You’re suddenly looking at me so sternly that it makes me nervous, Your Grace.”
Karnov joked as he wiped the water droplets from Asha’s forehead with the towel. Asha let him, then spoke as if remembering something left at home.
“Karnov.”
“Yes, yes. Your Grace.”
“Should we get married now?”
Karnov slipped and fell into the creek.
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
Natalya sulked when she saw Karnov and Asha come back drenched, wondering how they could have fun alone. Lyudmila sighed, lamenting how the two adults could be so carefree, and brought out larger towels.
“Hahaha.”
“Is it funny to you?”
Lyudmila, frowning sternly, asked while Asha changed clothes inside the tent. Outside, Natalya was pestering Karnov about his crime of playing in the water alone with Asha.
“Well, um.”
Asha hesitated as she tried to tell Lyudmila what happened by the creek. When she told Karnov, it was effortless, but now she felt a bit embarrassed. When Lyudmila patted her head with the towel, Asha took a deep breath and said,
“When I went to wash my hands by the creek, I asked Karnov to marry me.”
Lyudmila’s eyes widened.
“Then, Karnov, probably shocked, slipped and fell into the water. I tried to help him out, but I ended up falling in too.”
“…”
Lyudmila was left speechless, and Asha giggled.
“Hahaha.”
“That’s too…”
Lyudmila struggled to find the right words. Nothing seemed appropriate.
— Isn’t it too early?
However, people in the capital already acted as if Karnov and Anastasia were married, and Karnov had wanted this for a long time.
— Wasn’t it too hasty?
Yet, taking things slowly to consider better options… Was there anyone in the capital who loved Anastasia more than Karnov and was willing to be there for her?
— Too soon…
This is it! Lyudmila’s eyes sparkled. She ignored the fact that all her thoughts were essentially similar.
“Asha, isn’t it too soon a decision?”
“Is it?”
“What about inheritance?”
“Inheritance?”
Asha’s eyes widened.
“You’re the Grand Duchess of Pesheranskaya, and Karnov is supposed to succeed the Neustadter family. What about that issue?”
“Right now, the most urgent thing seems to be you, Lyuda.”
“Asha!”
Lyudmila exclaimed, blushing. Asha giggled, then thoughtfully toyed with the ends of her still-wet hair.
“How should I tell Natalya?”
“Are you really… going to get married?”
“Well, Karnov hasn’t answered my proposal yet. Calling it a proposal might be a bit much. I guess I’ll hold off on telling Natalya for now.”
Lyudmila looked incredulous. How could Karnov possibly say no?
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
As night fell, the sparks from the campfire became more vivid. The stew, cooked earlier in the day, was reheated over the fire to deepen its flavor, and everyone shared it together.
Karnov glanced at Evan, who was sipping the stew beside him. Evan seemed much more stable these days, perhaps due to the increase in Noctis Elves working in the royal palace or simply the passage of time.
“Evan.”
“Yes?”
“Has Her Highness said anything unusual or noteworthy lately?”
Evan’s expression changed, and he looked at him with narrowed eyes, as if he were glaring at a rogue trying to steal his secret diary.
“No, Evan. I’m not trying to pry into her secrets…”
Karnov hesitated. He couldn’t bring himself to say, ‘Your mistress suddenly asked me to marry her today, causing me to fall into the water. I want to know what’s going on.’
“No… never mind…”
Evan looked at him with a gaze that said, ‘Don’t do it again.’ Karnov felt a sudden urge to give Evan a playful flick on the forehead but instead just shook his head.
Starlight poured through the branches of the peach trees. Some of the knights, knowledgeable in music, plucked simple stringed instruments, and Natalya danced wildly, holding hands with Lyudmila. Asha was engaged in a serious discussion with another knight over bowls of stew.
“We don’t have enough potatoes…”
“Sprinkle flour before grilling the meat…”
“Add plenty of onions and butter…”
Did Asha have a change of heart that led her to suddenly propose marriage?
‘What on earth is she thinking?’
Thinking back, Asha had casually mentioned marriage in a joking manner since the moment he confessed years ago.
‘But that was…’
Back then, he thought she was just trying to regain her composure after being shocked by his confession, saying anything that came to mind.
This time was different. In a completely normal situation, Asha had suddenly brought up an unsettling topic. It was like she had remembered something she had briefly forgotten while planning the picnic or deciding on the next pastry to make.
At that moment.
“…Karnov, Karnov.”
“…!”
He had been so deep in thought that he hadn’t noticed her approach. Karnov took a deep breath as he saw Asha standing right next to him.
“Why… why? What’s wrong?”
Asha held a small potato in her hand. She whispered,
“I think we’re short on potatoes.”
“You said you love me even without my abilities.”
“Of course.”
“You just want a living food pantry, don’t you?”
“My goodness, Duke of Sedvoyer. How can you say such a thing?”
“Am I right or wrong, Grand Duchess Pesheranskaya?”
“But, you know… since we have it anyway…”
“Oh dear.”
Asha laughed with her eyes. Karnov couldn’t help but laugh too. Neither Asha nor Karnov realized that the time to prove this conversation would come so quickly.
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
“Be careful on your way back! Write to me!”
After finishing the camping trip at the Pesheranskaya orchard, they waved goodbye at the crossroads leading to their respective homes. As Natalya and Lyudmila’s carriage departed, Asha, left alone with Karnov in their carriage, broke her composure and exclaimed,
“Ka-Karnov! What’s going on? You suddenly can’t use your powers?”
“I don’t know either.”
“Can you hear Kairos’s voice?”
“I’d have to meet Kairos to know that.”
Phoebe and Kairos hadn’t joined this camping trip. The spirits had decided to have their own camping time, planning to camp in a secret storage known only to Shamal in the royal palace.
“Karnov, are you sick? Do you have a cold or a fever?”
Asha tried to find the cause, but Karnov shrugged it off. Seeing his indifferent face, Asha tugged at the ends of her hair and shouted,
“This isn’t something to just shrug off!”
On the first night of camping, when she asked for more potatoes and found that the seed potatoes showed no signs of sprouting, Karnov tilted his head, and Asha laughed it off, thinking he was just tired. The stew ended up filled with almost tasteless cabbage instead of the missing potatoes.
But when she realized the next morning that Karnov still couldn’t use his powers, Asha wanted to return to the capital immediately. If Karnov hadn’t stopped her, she would have. In the end, she couldn’t win against Karnov, who insisted on sticking to their three-day camping schedule, believing he would be fine soon.
And now, those three days were over. Asha was the one who looked pale, while Karnov seemed unfazed.
‘How can he be so calm when his powers suddenly disappeared!’
Asha stood up abruptly in the carriage, hitting her head on the ceiling. The startled coachman stopped the carriage and looked inside. She waved him off, saying it was nothing, and took a deep breath after they resumed moving.
“What’s going on? What happened? Why is this happening?”
“Hmm. It’s best to keep it a secret for now. We don’t want to start a war.”
One of the main reasons the empire hadn’t faced war or rebellion was Karnov’s power. He could single-handedly sweep the front lines.
But now, he couldn’t use that power!
“Are you really not sick? Do you feel unwell, dizzy, or nauseous?”
“I feel perfectly fine.”
“Are your limbs numb or achy, or are you having trouble finding words?”
“All the words I want to say come to mind, Grand Duchess Pesheranskaya. My limbs aren’t numb either.”
“Then what on earth is going on!”
Asha stomped her feet, then suddenly had a thought and her eyes widened. She moved close to Karnov and grabbed his face with both hands.
“W-what are you doing?”
Karnov flinched, but with his back against the carriage wall and Asha in front of him, there was no room to retreat. Asha spoke seriously,
“When there’s an inexplicable problem, there’s a common solution.”
“W-what is it… Mmph!”
Before Karnov could react, Asha pressed her lips firmly against his, as if stamping them.
“Mmph—!”
Then she pulled away. Karnov’s eyes darted around.
“Karnov, try using your powers.”
Karnov, reluctantly accepting that his lips had been used as a remedy, tried to use his powers, but nothing happened. Asha, feeling as if the sky had fallen, ran her hands down her face in despair.
“Didn’t that work?”
“Of course not.”
“I was hoping…”
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
As soon as they arrived at the palace, Asha quietly summoned a healer. The healer, who had rushed over upon hearing that Grand Duchess Pesheranskaya had sprained her ankle, was a bit taken aback to find herself examining Karnov instead. Nevertheless, she calmly examined Karnov.
“Hmm. Well… you are in perfect health.”
She answered in a slightly awkward voice. It was surprising that there was no need to check his physical condition, as there was nothing wrong.
The healer, urged by Asha to be more thorough, examined Karnov further but ultimately concluded that he was healthy and quietly withdrew.
“Are you sure there’s nothing wrong or any pain?”
“Nothing. I’m perfectly fine.”
Hearing that there was no illness or pain, Asha finally relaxed her shoulders in relief.
“It’s good that you’re fine, but why did this suddenly happen? Phoebe, is this possible? Can someone suddenly lose the powers they gained through a contract with a spirit?”
Phoebe and Kairos, sitting side by side on the windowsill, shook their heads.
<The contract isn’t broken… I don’t know what’s going on.>
<Of course! Karnov and I will never have our contract broken!>
Kairos exclaimed, flying onto Karnov’s shoulder. Karnov gently rubbed Kairos’s head with his fingertip and smiled, then turned to Asha.
“You said you love me even without these powers.”
Asha’s face turned bright red. She pushed Karnov away.
“Karnov! Don’t say such things in front of the kids.”
“Ugh, they’re older than us…”
Meanwhile, the two chicks flapped around in a frenzy. Karnov covered them with Asha’s shawl. Then, smiling, he said to Asha,
“So now that I have no powers, is your heart wavering, Grand Duchess?”
“That’s a hurtful thing to say. It’s a shame I can’t have 30-year-old Shaslings wine right away, though.”
“Hmm.”
“Duke, didn’t I tell you what’s important?”
“…”
Asha smiled and tapped Karnov’s forehead, nose, and lips in turn with her fingertip.
“I said it’s okay if you don’t have money, abilities, or power, but you can’t lack the beauty, charm, and grace of Duke of Sedvoyer, right?”
“…Would you be satisfied if I took a milk bath?”
Karnov grumbled, and Asha burst into laughter. Phoebe, who had been peeking out from under the shawl with a puzzled expression, flew up and landed on Asha’s head. Kairos, also puzzled, glared at Phoebe before returning to Karnov’s shoulder. Then Phoebe suddenly raised her head as if remembering something.
<Ah! The fact that his powers suddenly aren’t working might mean they’re growing.>
<Ah…>
“Growing?”
Asha’s eyes widened. Karnov also turned his gaze to Phoebe.
<The World Trees planted in various places have almost all taken root, so the influence of the spirit’s power is expanding. If there’s a trigger, the power might grow stronger.>
Kairos nodded in agreement.
<The fact that Karnov and I can still communicate shows that there’s nothing wrong with the contract.>
“Will it grow if there’s a trigger? What kind of trigger? There wasn’t anything like that… It just happened while we were camping.”
<If there’s an emotional disturbance due to a major event or accident…>
“…!”
“…!”
Asha flinched significantly at those words. Karnov’s face lit up with an ‘Aha!’ expression as he sprang up, causing Kairos to take flight urgently.
<W-what’s going on?>
Karnov, with a triumphant expression, ran his hand through his disheveled hair.
“There was such an event. Something that could cause a tremendous emotional disturbance!”
Asha smiled awkwardly.
“Ah… were you that shocked?”
“You must have seen how shocked I was.”
“Yes, it did seem like you were very shocked…”
<What’s going on? What happened?>
Asha smiled bashfully, feeling a bit sorry.
“When we were camping, I asked him to marry me. It was so sudden that Karnov was shocked enough to fall into the water…”
Karnov wanted to argue how shocked he was by her words, but Phoebe was quicker.
<What? Shocked by that? What’s there to be shocked about? Karnov! Did you just play with my peach and then plan to throw her away?>
Karnov slowly closed his open mouth and sighed. He was already familiar with the chick’s aggressive nature towards everyone except her peach.
“Of course not. What I mean is…”
<Then why were you shocked? It’s a natural progression.>
And of course, Kairos, who couldn’t stand seeing his boy cornered, joined the fray.
<Phoebe! You call yourself the Great Spirit of Senses? Don’t you know how significant marriage is to humans? Anyone would be surprised by a sudden proposal!>
<If it was so surprising, then he should have proposed first instead of letting my peach propose!>
<There is a right time for everything! Don’t you time it even when you take cookies out of the oven?>
<That’s because cookies are important!>
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
The affairs and state of someone like Karnov Neustadter couldn’t be just a personal matter. After calming Asha while the two chicks chirped excitedly, Karnov went to see Emperor Alexei.
He had already informed Alexei through Fafnir when they returned to the capital, so Karnov wasn’t worried about surprising him with the news.
“Duke of Sedvoyer, you’re here?”
“Your Majesty.”
Alexei, now emperor, wasn’t much different from when he was crown prince. He greeted Karnov with the same gentle smile.
However, the official before him didn’t seem to think so. The official, looking terrified, bowed and quickly retreated. Karnov clicked his tongue softly, making sure the official didn’t hear.
“Made someone cry again?”
Alexei smiled calmly. Karnov knew the meaning of that smile well. ‘If they had done their job right, they wouldn’t have to cry.’
“Well then, since it’s been a while since we had a private conversation, shall we have some tea?”
“Alexei, you know I don’t really want to have tea with you anymore.”
Karnov chuckled and waved his hand. He couldn’t count how many awkward silent tea times he’d had with Alexei every time something happened to Asha.
As he politely declined and took a seat on one of the sofas in the emperor’s office, Karnov froze midway into his seat.
Alexei was still smiling as he looked at Karnov. Karnov swallowed hard.
“…Is there a reason to have tea?”
“I didn’t think you’d ask me that.”
Alexei chuckled and rang the bell a few times to summon a servant. The experienced servant, who had also served the former emperor, quickly assessed the atmosphere between Karnov and Alexei and excused himself to bring tea and refreshments.
Alexei narrowed his eyes with a smile. Karnov swallowed hard and slowly sat down. Alexei propped his chin on his hand and looked at Karnov.
“So… Fafnir says you can’t use your powers? Let’s start with that.”
“Ah, yes. It seems that as the World Trees are stabilizing, my powers are growing.”
“Are you sure?”
Karnov shook his head. Alexei tilted his head in thought and asked again,
“There’s no particular abnormality or pain in your body?”
“None at all.”
Karnov chuckled, thinking how both Alexei and Asha were concerned about the same things.
“Asha had the healer check me two or three times.”
Hearing this, Alexei’s expression softened a bit in relief.
“Good. Then let’s keep an eye on your powers for now. Or…”
After a moment of thought, Alexei suggested,
“Should we announce that you’ve lost your powers?”
Karnov’s expression twisted. The state of his powers wasn’t just his business; his powers had prevented wars.
He had ended the war with the Noctis Elves, and since then, there had been no incidents, thanks to Karnov’s power over time. Many still believed his power was related to death.
“How will you handle the unrest at the border?”
“I think it was unreasonable to entrust the entire nation’s border to one person in the first place.”
“It’s not a joke; I did it because I could.”
“And you handled everything that followed because you could?”
“Well… none of it was too difficult.”
The idea that one person is responsible for the safety of the border implies that if that one person is gone, the border is vulnerable.
Among the things Karnov experienced in his childhood, there were many he didn’t want to tell Asha about, such as his cruel parents or the assassins in the middle of the night. Although both had become less frequent recently.
After a moment of silent eye contact, Alexei shrugged lightly.
“Alright. We can decide on an official announcement after observing the situation for a few days. You’re not feeling anxious or anything, right?”
“Not at all. Maybe because I feel like my powers will return eventually?”
Although he was surprised that the powers that had defined most of his life suddenly disappeared, he wasn’t afraid or anxious that they might never return. In fact, he felt somewhat relieved, as if a weight that had been on his shoulders for a long time was finally gone. He couldn’t tell Alexei this, though, as he would immediately push to announce that Karnov had lost his powers.
If there was anything that concerned him, it was Asha’s pastry shop’s chocolate menu. It included Chasselas wine, and without his powers, it would be difficult to measure the amount of alcohol in the chocolate.
“If it seems like they won’t return, I’ll let you know right away, so don’t worry too much, Your Majesty.”
As Karnov spoke, Alexei’s expression softened into a gentle smile. Just then, the servant returned, swiftly and neatly setting up the tea and refreshments before leaving the office as gracefully as any knight.
As the lid of the warm teapot clinked slightly, Alexei spoke.
“Let’s get to the main topic. Karnov, I’ve been hearing about a marriage. Can you tell me what’s going on?”
“…!”
Karnov flinched and swallowed hard. His throat bobbed with tension.
“Well, I don’t know what’s going on, Alexei. It’s a misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstanding?”
“Where did you hear this? Did Asha… did Asha say something?”
Alexei narrowed his eyes and poured tea into a cup.
“She usually tells me things after she’s already made up her mind.”
In other words, if he had heard it from Asha, he would already be busy preparing for the wedding. This meant he was currently investigating unclear suspicions.
Understanding the situation, Karnov took a deep breath. Fortunately, it seemed he had a chance to defend himself in this tea-time interrogation.
“Alexei, you need to know that, both in the past and now, it was Asha who brought up marriage first, not me.”
“Are you confessing that you seduced Asha in front of her brother*?”
[T/N: Like previous times, Alexei uses the word for brother to display their closeness despite being cousins]
“I did think it would be nice to have such an ability, but unfortunately, I’m still lacking, Your Majesty.”
Karnov’s grumbling made Alexei chuckle as if he had heard an amusing story.
“So, Asha brought it up first this time too? What were you doing?”
He was essentially asking why Karnov hadn’t proposed yet.
“I was caught off guard.”
Karnov answered firmly.
“Listen, we were washing our hands in the creek, and she suddenly looked at me and said, ‘Do you want to get married?'”
“So what did you say?”
“I fell into the water.”
“What?”
Karnov sank into the sofa, turning his head slightly to avoid Alexei’s gaze, and answered again.
“I told you, we were washing our hands in the creek. I was so surprised by her words that I fell into the water…”
Alexei laughed loudly. He usually smiled gently, so the servant outside the door was startled enough to flinch.
Karnov waved his hand in embarrassment but couldn’t stop Alexei from laughing. Thanks to that, Karnov managed to avoid being questioned about why he hadn’t properly responded to the proposal and ended the private conversation for the day.
